Can I change my surname to my mother's maiden name?#
Yes. GOV.UK says anyone aged 16 or over can make a deed poll and start using a new name, and that a deed poll can change any part of a name. A mother's maiden name is a surname like any other, so a deed poll from your current name to the new one is all it takes. Nobody has to agree: HM Passport Office's guidance says that from 16 a person can make their own deed poll, which means they can legally change their name and apply for an adult passport without the consent of the people who hold parental responsibility. You do not have to give a reason, and GOV.UK's wording for a deed poll has no place for one.
The new surname has to meet the same rules as any name. GOV.UK says it must be pronounceable, must not include numbers, symbols or punctuation other than a hyphen or an established form such as O'Hara, and must not be offensive or against the public interest. The name checker tests a name against those rules.
Can I take my step-parent's or a grandparent's surname?#
Yes, in exactly the same way. HM Passport Office's evidence rules ask for the deed and proof that you use the name; they ask nothing about where the surname comes from or why you chose it. A grandparent's surname, a step-parent's, or a family name from further back are all simply surnames.
Adoption is not a way for an adult to take a step-parent's surname in England and Wales. The Adoption and Children Act 2002 lets an adoption application be made only before the person turns 18, and no adoption order can be made once they are 19, so a step-parent cannot adopt a grown-up stepchild, and a deed poll is the usual route.
Taking a new surname does not change your birth record. In England and Wales the birth certificate stays as it was registered, because GOV.UK says a registration cannot be corrected to show a later change; you show the certificate alongside the deed: birth certificates and a change of name.
Does anyone have to agree?#
Not from the age of 16. No parent or step-parent has a say, including the parent whose surname you are giving up. HM Passport Office's guidance notes the exceptions at 16 and 17: a court order that prevents a change of name without everyone's consent, for example for a young person in care. Being married does not change this for an ordinary deed poll; only an application to enrol one lists a spouse's written consent among the documents the court may ask for.
What does the passport office want?#
For a passport in the new name, HM Passport Office's guidance asks for evidence of the change and evidence that you use the new name:
- The original deed poll. Staff must accept an unenrolled deed poll if you signed it in both names, in wet ink, with at least one witness, and dated it.
- One document showing the name in use, for an application from the UK, such as a letter from your employer, your council or HMRC, or a bank statement. Most kinds must be from the last 12 months.
- Evidence of any earlier change of name, which GOV.UK's passport guidance asks for too.
A new adult passport costs £102 online; changing your name with HM Passport Office has the rest. The document showing the name in use is easiest to get from your employer, council or HMRC first, because some banks, Lloyds, Halifax and Santander among them, accept an unenrolled deed poll only with a passport or driving licence in the new name: banks compared.
If you were born in Scotland or Northern Ireland#
A deed poll works wherever you were born. Scotland and Northern Ireland also let you note the change on your birth entry, which is optional. National Records of Scotland records a change of name for someone born or adopted in Scotland for £40, and HM Passport Office accepts the new Scottish birth certificate, which shows both names, as evidence. In Northern Ireland the General Register Office records a change for £35; from 18 it allows one change of forenames and up to three changes of surname, five years apart.
Under 16: a child taking a parent's or step-parent's surname#
The rules are different. HM Passport Office's guidance says everyone with parental responsibility must consent to a change of name for a child under 16, and GOV.UK's route needs their agreement or a court order. That usually includes the parent whose surname the child is giving up. Changing a stepchild's surname and changing a child's surname to the mother's or the father's explain who must agree and what happens if someone will not. At 16 or 17 a young person can make their own deed poll.
Questions people ask
Will my father, or anyone else, be told?
No. An unenrolled deed poll is not registered or published anywhere: The National Archives says a change of name has never needed registering with any official body. Only enrolment, which is optional, puts the change and your address in The Gazette. Can someone find out my new name?
Can I add my mother's maiden name rather than replace my surname?
Yes. GOV.UK says a deed poll can add names and hyphens, so the same deed can give you a double-barrelled surname or make her maiden name a middle name. Keeping a maiden name as a middle name explains the middle-name version.
Can I change my surname again later?
Yes. GOV.UK sets no limit on how often you change your name by deed poll, but each change needs its own deed, and HM Passport Office asks for evidence of every change, linking back to your birth certificate or your last passport. How many times can I change my name?
Something else? Ask us, and a person replies by email, normally the same working day.
